At least 25 people were injured in an explosion in New York's Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, the fire department officials said.
A law enforcement source said an initial investigation suggested the explosion occurred in a dumpster but the cause was still undetermined. CNN reported that law enforcement sources believe an improvised explosive device caused the blast.
At least three people were seen being taken away from the scene of the blast in ambulances, but the severity of their injuries was not immediately clear. A car seen driving through the area had its rear window blown out.
The blast occurred at about 8:30 pm between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue on 23rd Street, a major east-west thoroughfare in the fashionable downtown neighborhood of Chelsea, J Peter Donald, a deputy commissioner with the New York Police Department, said in a Twitter message.
Representatives of the NYPD, the Fire Department of New York and other city agencies could not be reached immediately for further comment.
Twenty-five civilians were confirmed to have been injured in the blast, the New York City Fire Department said on Twitter.
The explosion, described by one neighbor as "deafening," happened outside the Associated Blind Housing facility at 135 W. 23rd Street. The facility provides housing, training and other services for the blind.
Hundreds of people were seen fleeing down the block on a cool early autumn evening, as police cordoned off the area.
A law enforcement source said an initial investigation suggested the explosion occurred in a dumpster but the cause was still undetermined. CNN reported that law enforcement sources believe an improvised explosive device caused the blast.
At least three people were seen being taken away from the scene of the blast in ambulances, but the severity of their injuries was not immediately clear. A car seen driving through the area had its rear window blown out.
The blast occurred at about 8:30 pm between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue on 23rd Street, a major east-west thoroughfare in the fashionable downtown neighborhood of Chelsea, J Peter Donald, a deputy commissioner with the New York Police Department, said in a Twitter message.
Representatives of the NYPD, the Fire Department of New York and other city agencies could not be reached immediately for further comment.
Twenty-five civilians were confirmed to have been injured in the blast, the New York City Fire Department said on Twitter.
The explosion, described by one neighbor as "deafening," happened outside the Associated Blind Housing facility at 135 W. 23rd Street. The facility provides housing, training and other services for the blind.
Hundreds of people were seen fleeing down the block on a cool early autumn evening, as police cordoned off the area.